A Glossary of Looksmaxxing Terms Every Parent Should Know

Looksmaxxing is a subculture of the manosphere that glorifies a hypermasculine appearance and promotes methods to maximize looks. (Get it? Looksmaxxing. So clever, she says, while rolling her eyes into the back of her head.)

The subculture is toxic at best and dangerous at worst, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with it to know if your tween or teen son is caught in its hollow-cheeked snare. To help, I dove into some of the darker corners of the internet to bring you this looksmaxxing glossary. 

Common looksmaxxing terms, defined

• Ascend: When an incel (an involuntarily celibate male) has sex or finds a relationship.
• BIMAX: Short for bimaxillary osteotomy, BIMAX is a procedure that simultaneously repositions both the upper and lower jaw. Traditionally used to address severe dental misalignment, the looksmaxxing community gravitates toward this procedure for its aesthetic benefits, such as greater chin projection and more prominent cheekbones.   
• Bonesmashing: Repeatedly tapping one’s face with a hammer to change its shape. 
• Chad: An idealized, highly attractive alpha male who women flock to. 
• Canthal tilt: The angle of the lateral canthus (outside corner of the eye) in relation to the medial canthus (inside corner of the eye). In looksmaxxing, an upward or “positive” tilt is desired, and some use surgery to achieve this result. 
• Decile: A standardized scale from 1to 10 used to measure and rank attractiveness. 
• Glow up: A dramatic, often rapid, improvement in physical appearance. Sometimes referred to as a “transformation.”
• The Golden Ratio: A mathematical proportion equal to about 1.618 that is widely a hallmark of attractiveness because it involves symmetrical, proportional facial features.
• Hardmaxxing: Extreme, invasive, or dangerous methods used to drastically alter physical appearance.
• High Tier Normie (HTN): A 5 out of 8 on the PSL attractiveness scale (see below) that spans from “subhuman” to “perfection.” HTNs are considered above average and are sometimes referred to as Chadlites. 
• Hunter eyes: Deep-set eyes with hooded eyelids and low-set brows, resembling predatorial animals.
• Jestermaxxing: A male who acts excessively funny, foolish, or entertaining in order to gain female attention. It’s considered a way to compensate for a perceived lack of physical attractiveness. 
• Mewwing: Placing the tongue against the roof of the mouth in an attempt to improve the structure of the jaw and face. 
• Orthotropics: Various techniques to expand and extend the jaw, including  the use of custom dental appliances and at-home methods such as mewing.
• PSL: The primary scale used in the looksmaxxing community in order to rank facial attractiveness based on facial harmony, balance, symmetry, sexual dimorphism, unique qualities, and averageness.
• Puberty optimization: Use of human growth hormone, testosterone, or aromatase inhibitors in order to enhance or extend puberty and increase height, deepen the voice, and boost masculine traits. 
• Roidmaxxing: Misusing anabolic steroids to rapidly increase muscle mass and alter physical appearance.
• SEAmaxxing: When a man, typically a white man, travels to countries in Southeast Asia to exploit perceived racial or economic advantages in order to find partners or have sexual encounters. 
• Sexual market value (SMV): A measure of perceived sexual desirability and overall “worth” on the dating market. SMV calculations use age, physical appearance, social status, income or wealth, height, fitness, style, grooming, and confidence.
• Softmaxxing: Non-invasive ways of improving physical appearance through things like grooming, lifestyle changes, and skincare. 
• Starvemaxxing: Severely restricting calories or engaging in extreme fasting in order to quickly and drastically lose weight and pursue a hollow-cheeked, uber-defined face.
• Whitemaxxing: Taking extreme measures such as skin bleaching, whitening creams, and cosmetic surgery in order to fit white, Eurocentric beauty standards. 

Did you know? BrightCanary helps you monitor your tween or teen online by scanning everything they type on their device and sending you real-time alerts about anything concerning. BrightCanary’s custom-trained AI system keeps up with the latest internet terminology, so it can help you spot if your child is showing interest in looksmaxxing and other potentially problematic trends. 

Learn more manosphere terms your teen might encounter online. Did your child's friend send them something inappropriate? Find out what to do about it.

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